Ancient ice age "butchers" tools found in China

This changes the idea of the technological abilities of the ancient people of East Asia: even in harsh conditions, they created sophisticated tools and were able to work stone with precision.

Details

The finds come from the Linjing site in central China. This archaeological site has long been known for animal bones and stone tools. Judging by the materials, ancient people went there to cut up prey such as deer and other animals.

Special attention of the researchers was attracted by the stone cores - blanks from which sharp fragments were chipped off. Such chips could have been used as cutting tools.

At first glance, these stones do not look impressive. But analysis has shown that they were not made by random blows. Ancient craftsmen understood how to manipulate the shape of the stone: some sides were used as a platform for striking, while others were used to produce sharp detachments of the right shape.

This shows planning and a good understanding of the properties of the stone. To make such implements, it was necessary to represent the object in volume, maintain the correct angles and understand in advance how the stone would split after a blow.

Scientists associate these findings with ancient people of the Homo juluensis species. These were relatives of modern humans who lived in East Asia. They were characterised by large brains and combined features that resemble both East Asian archaic humans and Neanderthals.

Previously, it was thought that the tools from Linjing could be about 126,000 years old. But new dating has shifted their age back about 20,000 years to 146,000 years.

To do this, scientists used calcite crystals that grew inside one of the animal's bones. Such crystals contain traces of uranium, which over time turns into thorium. By the ratio of these elements can determine the age of formation of crystals, and therefore - to clarify the age of the layer with the findings.

The difference of 20 thousand years turned out to be important. If earlier the tools were attributed to a warmer interglacial period, the new date indicates a cold glacial stage. In other words, sophisticated tools were not created in times of abundance, but in harsher conditions.

Why it matters

It has long been thought that technological innovation in the late Middle Pleistocene was more active in Europe and Africa, while East Asia supposedly lagged behind in terms of the sophistication of stone technology.

The finds from Linjing show a different picture. Ancient people in China also possessed elaborate methods of stone working. Their tools required not only physical skill, but also planning, precision and understanding of the material.

The study also challenges the idea that creativity and sophisticated techniques only emerge in favourable times. In this case, it could have been the other way round: colder climates and lack of resources may have pushed people towards more inventive solutions.

Background

Ice ages were times of serious challenge for ancient humans. The climate became colder, resources could be unevenly distributed, and survival depended on the ability to hunt, carcasses, hides, bones and meat as efficiently as possible.

Stone tools were therefore not just "primitive knives". They were part of a complex survival strategy. The better man was able to make sharp splinters, the more efficiently he could process prey and utilise available resources.

The findings from Linjing show that the ancient people of East Asia were far more technologically flexible than previous models have suggested.

Source

The study is published in the Journal of Human Evolution in 2026: Earliest centripetal flaking system in eastern Eurasia reveals human behavioural complexity in late Middle Pleistocene China. The authors studied stone tools from the Lingjing site in central China and determined their age by dating calcite crystals inside the animal bone.